January 2024 started in Queenstown, New Zealand, with an awesome New Year’s Eve celebration I’ll never forget, and on New Year’s Day, we toured glaciers by helicopter and had a picnic atop a mountain next to said helicopter, and it was awesome. A few days later, it was time to […]
I took my 30th trip to New Orleans in May for a few days of legal conference. My son got a “cadet of the year” award via his Civil Air Patrol squadron that the local VFW presented him, and I liked the guys who presented it so much that I […]
In June, I spent my 47th birthday weekend in Chicago, where we kayaked the river, had dinner at Alinea, saw a “close up” magic show, visited another Hemingway home (his childhood one this time!), enjoyed late night speakeasies, and got Covid again (the Mrs and I did, anyway). Before I […]
February started with a ski trip to Tahoe with friends I met in 1998 via the Tennessee Air National Guard. I skied 40 miles the first day and another 37 on sore legs the second day. A couple of us won a few hundred dollars at blackjack just across the […]
For 2021’s final month, we started by taking the trip to Disneyland planned for May 2020; we learned to ride (and subsequently bought) a motorcycle; we returned to Cheaha State Park with my friends from childhood and their families; we attended a few holiday parties (better than attending zero holiday […]
It’s been a decade since I’ve gone to New Orleans for anything that wasn’t a) Mardi Gras, b) an Alabama football game, or c) a Dad 2.0 conference. All 3 of these are normally cold events in January or February, so a trip in late March for some warmer weather […]
My 10th Mardi Gras trip began on Wednesday, just 3 days after I flew home from my 22nd trip to New Orleans while there for the Dad 2.0 Summit. While staying for the days in between would have been fun, my law practice and my health demanded that I spend […]
My 7th Dad 2.0 Summit took just shy of an act of Congress to attend, as we had a mandatory drill weekend from Friday to Sunday, and I needed a 2-star general’s approval to miss it. But I couldn’t miss my favorite conference in my favorite city (my 22nd trip!) […]
My 21st trip to New Orleans (and 9th Mardi Gras) began early Thursday morning when I helped 3 children get ready for school and dropped them off when the school doors opened at 7:10am (their mother was in Savannah); then I was off to the airport. We landed, and I […]
For my 20th trip to New Orleans and my 8th Mardi Gras, I got to do something I’ve wanted to do for over 20 years: go to one of those fancy pants black tie balls that the various krewes hold. And because I believe in coming strong, we chose the […]